Warm Up! Six Memphis Beers For Fall And Winter

Warm Up! Six Memphis Beers For Fall And Winter

Ed. Note: Just in time for folks who need a beer after their family dinner, contributor Blake Marcum has another great roundup of local beers, this time focusing on seasonal brews perfect for colder weather. Here are his personal recs for fall/winter beers from local breweries.


Fall has officially moved into the Bluff City and winter is on the way. We found six great local beers to warm your heart in these chilling times. 

These are in no particular order.

Memphis Made’s “Errmagerrd it’s a Querrd” Quad ale (10.1% ABV)

This boozy and dark Belgian Quad ale delivers lovely fruit tones and a hint of raisin to it.  It’s very sweet with a heavenly aftertaste and wonderful mouthfeel from the Belgian yeasts.  I had one of these at the taproom and immediately wished I was at home with my feet up in front of the fireplace.  I’m hoping this beer gets bottled for our future enjoyment.  

Also available now is Plaid Attack (6.2% ABV), Memphis Made’s flagship Scottish ale.  This beer with its lovely caramel color, boasts a deep malty sweetness to it, is complimented by Marris Otter, Crystal, chocolate and a dash of smoked cherry wood malts.  Now, I can’t tell you the difference in any of those malts, but I can tell you that they work to create a beautiful beer, with a perfect flavor for this time of year.

Bosco’s London Porter (6.6% ABV)

Arriving just in time for cold weather, the London Porter is dark and flavorful with a deep sweet malty flavor and a slight hint of chocolates.  I like to slowly drink mine, to allow it to warm up a bit and open up the flavors even more.  

Another new beer on tap is the Hoptical Illusion Double Black IPA (8.5% ABV), which is flavor forward with all the darker malts used to make the beer, and the hop characteristics of a double IPA.  This beer was the talk of the bar when I arrived to Boscos, and it did not disappoint.

Wiseacre’s “Kerfluffle” Oatmeal Stout (5.7% ABV)

I walked into Wiseacre’s taproom on Halloween night and amid the cold and rain around me, this tasty stout was the perfect beer to get me into a festive mood for post-Halloween holidays.  The brewers have delivered a rich and malty stout with plenty of depth in its mouthfeel and flavor.

It has a subtle but present sweetness to it that I enjoyed.  While this beer should be around for a while, also be on the lookout in November for the Bird on a Hippo Belgian Stout that was aged in cognac barrels and the wonderful barrel-aged Astronaut Status Imperial Stout, widely regarded in my circle as one of the best beers brewed in Memphis.

Meddlesome Yoga Pants Chai Spiced ale (5.2% ABV)

I hate tea.  I call it dirty leaf water.  The last thing I thought I’d enjoy when I walked into Meddlesome’s taproom and gazed upon their new fancy digital beer menu, was a Chai spiced beer, named Yoga Pants.  I was wrong.  It was a tasty treat that was sweet with cinnamon-like characteristics on the backend.  An Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Christmas seasonal (5.5% ABV) will be released soon so be on the lookout for it.

High Cotton’s Christmas Stout (5.5% ABV)

I was going to write passionately about how much I love High Cotton’s Pumpkin Saison, but they did a very small batch of it and it sold out quickly. In lieu of a current fall seasonal on tap, I must prepare you for their other seasonal, the Christmas Stout, a rich dark stout with so much Christmas flavor, it will jingle your bells and fa la la your la throughout the holiday season.  

I look forward to this beer all year long and once the taproom runs out, I’ll go to bars where it’s still on tap.  It will be available around December 1st and is a must-drink beer around town.  This beer has so much Christmas packed into it, you’ll think you’re taking a body shot off a reindeer.

Ghost River’s Midnight Magic German Black Lager (6.2% ABV)

I Ubered down to Ghost River’s taproom the second I heard Midnight Magic was back.  This German black lager (or Schwarzbier to the beer aficionados) delivers a dark, roasted, malted flavor punch straight to your brain’s feel good button.  It is a perfect beer for sitting around the fire pit or sitting at the bar enjoying a ballgame.  

I think it’s the best beer Ghost River makes and could be spiced to make a Pumpkin or Christmas version easily.  Another beer to look forward to is the SMASH Test Dummy’s Daddy, a SMASH (single malt and single hop) double IPA created by retiring brewer Mike Clements.  If it’s anything like every other one of his beer creations, it will be incredible.

Cheers!


About the Author
Blake Marcum was born and raised in the 901 and now lives in Midtown, helping people vicariously live out their dreams on social media, if those dreams involve beer and barbecue.  He’s a contributor to I Love Memphis,Memphis Travel, and MemphisCraftBeer.com.  A Grand Champion of BBQ Fest (2013) and BBQ judge, he really knows BBQ. Pairing that with his love of craft beer, he’s a great representative of the fun side of the Bluff City.  Blake loves the investment going into Memphis and believes the best is yet to come. Follow him on Twitter at@blakeandbrew.

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Phil Poux
I continue to be impressed by the great work you do prompting Memphis Holly. We are new to the community and having your great resource handy to plan out weekend activities....awesome How can anyone not enjoy this great city!
November 23, 2017 7:03am